


Perfectly Imperfect

by beccaheartschrisevans



Series: Chris & Wren Series [1]
Category: American Actor RPF
Genre: F/M, chris evans as a dad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-15
Updated: 2017-04-14
Packaged: 2018-09-24 13:23:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 19,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9735032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beccaheartschrisevans/pseuds/beccaheartschrisevans
Summary: Perfectly Imperfect is about Chris Evans and his best female friend since age 14, Lauren “Wren” Arnold. What he doesn’t know is that Wren has been in love with him since she was 15. After Chris gets married, she is forced to move on which doesn’t happen when he returns three years later with his daughter Adelaide “Addy” in tow.





	1. Prologue

October 22, 2016

Lauren "Wren" Arnold sat alone at a round table that was decorated to the nines for her best friend's wedding. The other table occupants were on the dance floor while she drowned her sorrows in her fifth glass of champagne.

Her eyes sought out and quickly found her best friend, Chris Evans, and his wife, Jessa, as they danced to an upbeat song. The smile he gave his wife broke Wren's heart, but she didn't let it show. After all, it wasn't his fault that she'd fallen in love with him when they were fifteen.

She hadn't spent a lot of time with Jessa, but Wren couldn't fault Chris for falling in love with the woman. She was beautiful, funny, and nice; in short, she was everything that Chris needed. Jessa also understood the friendship between Wren and Chris and hadn't pitched a fit over their closeness like some of his previous girlfriends. They really were the perfect couple.

Across the room, Scott Evans's eyes settled on Wren as he stood at the open bar. He ordered two shots of tequila and then made his way over to her. He was the only other person who knew her secret heartache and, if that wasn't hard enough, he knew a secret that would break her heart further, but he couldn't say anything.

Silently, he took the seat next to her and handed over the shot glass. He clanked his glass against hers and then they both tossed the drinks back. They put the glasses on the table and then he leaned back in his seat and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. She nestled into his embrace and laid her head on his shoulder.

It was time for Wren to move on with her life and move past her feelings for Chris. Her past attempts at moving on had been thwarted by Chris's presence in her life, but that wouldn't be a problem this time. Not only was he married, but he and his wife, a wardrobe assistant for Marvel Studios, would be making their way to Georgia for the next year or so before they settled down in California. His moving away would finally be her opportunity to move on.

Wren knew that she'd never be able to stop loving him completely, but she firmly believed there was someone out there for her. All she had to do was find him.


	2. Chapter 1

April 17, 2020

Going to the grocery store after a long week at work was the last thing that Lauren "Wren" Arnold wanted to do, but she didn't have a choice if she wanted more than wine for dinner. Though, after the day she'd had, wine would play a large roll in her unwinding for the evening.

The day had started relatively normal and had been that way until about lunchtime, when she'd gotten a call from the school nurse informing her that two of her students were out for the day due to head lice. Having taught Kindergarten for nearly ten years, Wren had known that the rest of the day would be lost to the rest of the class being checked for head lice. She'd read book after book while her students had been checked by the school nurse and other volunteers. In the end, two additional students were found to be victims and they'd been sent home early while the rest of the class had been sent home with letters informing parents of the outbreak.

Wren, herself, had been subjected to a check once the class had left for the day and she, thankfully, had been free of the nasty bugs. She had then spent an extra hour working with the school nurse and janitor to give her classroom a thorough cleaning.

Now it was after six in the evening and Wren was just getting to the grocery store, something that usually happened a little after four on a normal Friday. She grabbed a hand-held basket then pulled out the handwritten grocery list she had compiled before the phone call and referenced it as she made her way through the fruits and the vegetable section.

After getting the fresh produce that was on her list, she made her way into one of the center aisles and grimaced when she heard a little kid crying loudly. The sound grew louder as she made her way up and down the aisles, grabbing what she needed. As she passed the aisle that the poor child was on, she couldn't help but steal a glance in their direction and froze when she recognized the upset little girl and her dad.

Hurrying towards them, Wren pulled a smile onto her face and used her best teacher voice to say, "Oh my, what's going on here?"

Father and daughter turned to look at her and she couldn't tell who was happier to see her: Chris Evans or his two, nearly three, year old daughter. A look of relief had washed over Chris's tired face as Adelaide "Addy" Evans stopped crying.

"What's wrong, Addy?" Wren asked as she dried the little girl's tears with her thumbs.

"We missed nap time," Chris explained. "And then I wouldn't let her bring her teddy bear into the grocery story." He raked his hand through his hair. "It's been a rough day, but we don't have anything in the house for dinner so…"

"You shop, I'll push and entertain her," Wren told him. She handed him her basket and he put it into the shopping cart.

"You might as well give me your list, too," he said, motioning for her list.

"How do you know I have a list?" Wren asked.

"Because you never go anywhere without a list," Chris stated. "You love making lists and you've been doing it the entire 24 years I've known you. So hand it over."

"Fine," she replied, handing over the list. "But stick to the brand names and ask if you have any questions."

Wren followed Chris through the store as she talked with Addy. Seeing the pair of them tonight was just what she needed after her horrible day. The single dad and his little girl had become a favorite treat to her otherwise boring life. Not that she would admit that out loud to anyone, especially not to her roommate Heidi, who happened to be the guidance counselor at the elementary school Wren worked at.

After three years of relative silence, Chris had blown back into Wren's life five months ago, a few weeks before Christmas. She'd heard via his older sister that his wife, Jessa, had filed for divorce in November, a few weeks after their third wedding anniversary. Wren knew it had come as a complete shock to Chris and he had spent the first few months in Boston being angry at the world and everyone in it save for Addy.

Wren knew very little about the divorce and the reasons for it. Articles about it reported 'irreconcilable differences', but Chris had been relatively quiet about it all, other than the occasional choice word for his ex-wife. Whatever his personal feelings about Jessa were, he refused to let anyone speak badly about her in front of Addy.

Chris's reentry into Wren's life had been relatively seamless. The first few months had been kind of rocky, mostly because of his attitude, but he was slowly becoming the Chris she loved and remembered. And Addy was adorable, smart, funny and Chris’s mini me. She had taken the cross country move remarkably well for a two and a half year old and was thriving under all the love showered on her by her grandma, aunts, uncles and cousins.

Said family members had been sad, but had understanding, when Chris had decided, a month ago, that it was time for him and Addy to get their own place. Not that he had moved very away, having purchased a modest three bedroom, two and a half bathroom house a block away. Wren knew they were still adjusting to it being just the two of them, but she had faith that Chris would figure it out, it was obvious to anyone who looked at him that he loved his little girl.

"Ok, I think that's everything," Chris said as he dropped a pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream into Wren's basket.

"That wasn't on my list," Wren told him.

"But a head lice kit is," Chris stated, bringing up the last item that was scribbled on her list. "I think you need the ice cream."

"Chris, it's not part of my budget," she replied. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes; he might be able to afford anything his heart desired, but she had a strict budget.

"I'm paying for your groceries tonight," he told her then gave her a look that dared her to argue.

"Fine, but then I want an expensive bottle of -" Wren stopped when Chris pulled a bottle of her favorite wine out of her basket, making it clear that he had already swapped out the cheaper version when she had been distracting Addy. "I was joking, but I won't say no."

As they reached the checkout counters, they found long lines. They attempted to find the shortest one, but it was only a few minutes before Addy started fussing again.

"I can take her out to the car, if you'd like," Wren offered.

Chris fished his car keys from his pocket and then handed them to Wren. He told her where he parked and then hoisted Addy out of the cart. He gave her a raspberry on her neck, making her giggle, and then set her feet on the ground.

Wren took Addy's hand and led the little girl out of the grocery store. They sang a nursery rhyme as they looked for Chris's car. Once they had found it, they sat in the backseat together, with Addy holding onto her beloved teddy bear, while they waited for Chris. After a few minutes, Addy crawled onto Wren's lap and laid her head on her shoulder and Wren couldn't help but hold her close.

By the time Chris got to the car, Addy was asleep. He put his groceries into the trunk and then helped Wren transfer Addy into her car seat. The little girl slept through the process of being buckled in and didn't even flinch when Chris closed the door.

"Thank you for your help today," Chris said to Wren. "I was about to lose my mind. She was crying and I couldn't remember a thing I needed to buy."

"Maybe you should start making actual, handwritten lists," Wren teased as she pushed his shoulder. "But I'm happy I was there to help."

Chris laughed and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tight.

Wren felt her heart skip a beat as she breathed in the comforting scent that was his cologne mixed with a faint hint of baby powder, laundry soap and men's soap. She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him back, loving the way she felt safe and secure in his arms.

The honk of a horn startled them and Chris let go of her, forcing her to let go of him.

"I'd walk you to your car, but," he nodded towards his sleeping daughter.

"It's ok," Wren assured him. She grabbed the shopping cart and gave him a quick wave before she pushed the cart to her car. She loaded her groceries into the backseat of her car then returned the cart.

It wasn't until she arrived home and started unloading her bags of groceries that she saw that Chris had snuck a few other things into the basket while she hadn't been paying attention: a box of Twinkies, their go to after school snack before play practices, and a carton of Milk Duds, her favorite movie theater candy.

Wren shook her head and grabbed her phone. She quickly typed him a text and sent it to him.

**_Thanks for the Twinkies and the Milk Duds._ **

He responded a second later:

**Thought you needed them with all that healthy crap. Addy is awake. TTYL**

Wren chuckled and set her phone aside. She put a frozen dinner into the microwave and poured herself a glass of wine while she waited for it to cook. Then she carried her dinner over to the couch and settled down.

The desire she'd had to drown herself in wine when she'd left work was now gone and she didn't need her therapist roommate to tell her what the reason was.


	3. Chapter 2

May 9, 2020

An old, solid wood door with a cheap hook lock separated Chris Evans and the four women who had showed up over an hour early to Addy's third birthday party. They had brought their children, all of who Addy had been happy to see, but the four moms were way overdressed, or rather _underdressed_ , for a preschool party. One mom was wearing a tight pair of black jeans with a silk top that barely concealed her breasts, while another was wearing a black leather skirt, a partially see through maroon top and a pair of knee high boots. The other two moms were wearing dresses that one would expect to see at a cocktail party, one skin tight and red and the other black and short.

Adelaide had turned three 2days ago and Chris had arranged for all of her classmates at her preschool to come over to their house for a Sofia the First themed party. What he hadn't expected was for four of the moms to show up an hour early and proceed to flirt with him, or try to, instead of actually trying to help him set anything up. He'd lost count of the number of times his butt had been pinched or he'd been told how strong he was while they had petted his bicep.

Chris felt guilty for the way he'd told them to keep an eye on the kids while he'd fled to the laundry room right of the kitchen. The term 'chicken shit' came to mind as he leaned against his washing machine trying to figure out what to do. Taking his phone out of his pocket, he selected his family members and Wren and quickly typed a message:

**SOS GET HERE NOW!**

He hit send and then started to type again:

**House invaded by the**

He paused, for a moment, trying to figure out how to explain the situation he was facing. They were all moms, they'd come in a group and they all, apparently, wanted him and were offering themselves to him in front of each other and the kids.

**House invaded by the horny mom brigade.**

He hit send and his phone blew up a moment later with 'lol's, 'lmao's, and 'on our way'.

Then he got Wren's message:

**_Just parked. I'll be there in a few minutes._ **

Knowing he needed to get out there before the women decided to try and find his bedroom, Chris took a deep breath and unlocked the door. He opened it and startled when he saw one of the women leaning against the doorframe.

"There you are," she smiled, flipping her hair. "I wondered what you were up to." Her eyes flickered around the laundry room. "This room is a good -"

The sound of the doorbell cut her off and Chris breathed a sigh of relief as he ducked under her arm then all but ran to answer the door. After throwing it open, a large smiled spread across his face when he saw it was Wren. He all but pulled her inside and gave her a big hug.

"You have no idea how happy I am you are here," he muttered to her, holding her in his arms for a minute longer than needed, hoping the horny mom brigade would back off if they thought he and Wren were something.

"They can't be that bad," Wren laughed as she stepped out of his embrace. She smoothed her floral knee length skirt. "Where are the kids?"

Chris's face paled as he realized that the house was too quiet.

"We put a movie on for them," the mom in the black dress said from the entrance to the kitchen. She was holding a wine glass that was half full. "Who's this?"

"This is Wren," Chris told her. "She's my uh -"

Once again, Chris was saved by somebody arriving and he said a silent prayer of thanks when he saw it was his mom, siblings, niece and nephews.

"I'll go check on the kids," Wren offered with a smile. She slipped the strap of her crossbody purse over her head and then tucked it behind a chair so it was out of the way. She quickly said her hellos to Chris's family and then led his niece and nephews to the TV room where Addy and her school friends were watching a movie.

"Well, I assume there is still a lot to do before the other guests arrive," Chris's mom declared. "It will be all hands on deck to get this party ready." She headed into the kitchen, grabbing the wine glass out of black dress's hands as she went. "Thanks, dear. But alcohol at a three year old's birthday party might be a bit much."

Chris waited until everyone else had followed his mom into the kitchen before he did a little happy dance. He didn't feel an ounce of guilt for sticking his mother on the horny mom brigade; they deserved whatever she threw at them.

By the time Chris made it into the kitchen, his mom had everyone doing jobs: skinny jeans was helping Scott fill coolers with juice boxes; red dress was helping his older sister put together vegetable trays; black dress was helping his mom open the Sofia the First themed party plates and cups; and leather skirt was helping his younger sister fill the piñata that Addy had begged him to buy. With the four women occupied, Chris went out to the backyard to make sure both gates were closed and that the party games were ready to go.

It was another fifteen minutes, or so, until more of Addy's classmates arrived. Chris helped her answer the door while Wren, his niece and nephews wrangled the other three year olds. Most of the parents stayed for the party while others made their apologies and promised to be back within two hours time.

The next two hours were complete chaos, at least to Chris. Wren, who was used to dealing with twenty excited kids for eight hours a day, handled it like a pro. She seemed to have a sixth sense about when it was time to do a different activity and when the kids needed to rest for a little bit.

Meanwhile, the horny mom brigade had hidden themselves in the shade of the large tree in the backyard, trying to stay out of Chris's mom's eye line to avoid getting set with another task. It had humored Chris to great lengths that his mom had deemed the four women the perfect volunteers for helping little ones, whose parents had left, get to the bathroom.

Therefore, it was no surprise to anyone, when the horny mom brigade and their offspring were the first to leave the party. It was only after they'd left that the other parents, both moms and dads, started laughing and had informed Chris that the women tried this stunt whenever they knew there was a single dad in the picture. They'd all gotten a kick out of his nickname for them and had asked him to bring his mom with him to future birthday parties that the four women would be attending.

By the time the last party guests and their parents had left, Addy was stretched out on the couch in the TV room passed out from exhaustion and a sugar crash. Chris's family stuck around to help with the major clean up, but they eventually filled out, leaving the last bit of the cleaning to Chris and Wren.

"Thanks for your help today," Chris said as he dried the serving dish she had just washed. "I can honestly say we couldn't have done this without you."

"I love being around kids, you know that," Wren shrugged as she washed a bowl.

"Why don't you have any kids?" Chris asked her as he put the towel down to put the bowl away.

"Because I don't have a husband," Wren replied. "I'm an old fashioned girl, Chris."

"You'll be a great mom someday," Chris stated. His mind instantly went to Jessa and with a crack in his voice, he added, "and your kids will be lucky to have a mom like you."

Chris saw Wren's shoulders tense and then heard her shut off the water. He watched as she turned around and he knew that she'd caught the change in his voice. Turning away from her, he fussed with the dishes in the cupboard in order to get his emotions under control. He wasn't ready, wasn't sure he'd ever be ready, to talk about Jessa.

Only his family knew the real reason behind his and Jessa's divorce and he'd purposefully kept it that way. After all, the last thing he wanted was for the media to splash the fact that Jessa didn't want to be a mom all over the front pages and have his daughter find out one day from one of her classmates.

His mind flashed back to that November afternoon when he'd brought Addy home from a playdate. He'd put her down for a nap and then had gone into the bedroom he'd shared with Jessa, only to find her bags packed and her sitting at the end of the bed waiting for him.

At first, he'd thought she was going on a trip or being called away to fill in for another wardrobe assistant for Marvel, but then she'd handed him a manila envelope and had said the word 'divorce'. She had done some more talking, but all he had heard was 'blah blah I can't do this anymore blah blah blah I never wanted to be a mom blah blah blah.'

"Chris?" Wren's soft voice forced him back to the present. "What's wrong?"

Chris felt her hand on his shoulder and he took a deep breath as the anger he felt at Jessa for abandoning Addy threatened to return. He refused to let that anger affect Wren more than it already had and he refused to ruin an otherwise perfect day.

"I'm ok," he told her as he turned around. "Just had a not so pleasant memory."

"I'm here if you ever need to talk," she said, genuine concern showing on her face. "You know that, right?"

"I do know that," Chris nodded. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her close.

Chris knew that Addy would suffer from not having her mom in her life, but he also knew that she would always have his mom, sisters and Wren in her corner. Those four strong women would show her more love than she'd know what do with. Knowing that made his heart hurt a little less for his daughter.

After ending their hug, Chris and Wren returned to their task of washing and drying dishes. It was as they were working that Chris mentioned that he'd recently gotten a job on a television drama that was going to start shooting in Boston in June.

"What are you doing this summer?" he asked. He had planned to have Addy in daycare with his mom and sisters taking up the slack when they could, but when Wren mentioned that she had the summer off, he had started to get an idea.

"I haven't made any plans yet, why?" she asked.

"Do you have any interest in taking care of Addy for me this summer?" he asked. "It will only be during the week and most of the time it will be normal hours, but I do know there will be some night shoots."

"Do you need an answer now?" Wren asked, hesitantly.

"No, I don't," he replied then quickly added, "But please don't feel pressured to say yes. My mom and sisters have already agreed to help. I just thought you and Addy would have fun together."

"I think we would, too," Wren nodded. "But I'll still need to think it over."

"I understand," Chris told her. "Take all the time you need."

They finished doing the dishes and then Wren said her goodbyes. Chris watched from the doorway as she whispered goodbye to Addy and then he followed her to the front door.

"Text me when you get home," he told her as he opened the front door.

"Will do," Wren nodded.

Chris watched as she made her way down the path to the sidewalk. She gave a slight wave as she reached the end and then she started walking to her car, disappearing from his view.

Closing the door, Chris took a deep breath as he leaned against the door. He barely had a minute to himself before he heard Addy call for him. Shaking his head, he pushed off the door and made his way into the TV room where the best part of his life waited for his attention.


	4. Chapter 3

June & July 2020

Before deciding, ultimately, to help Chris out by taking care of Addy for the summer, Wren consulted her roommate, Heidi. She and Heidi had met in college and had become roommates after their sophomore year and had been roommates off and on ever since. Since they were also best friends, it meant that Heidi knew most Wren's secrets and vice versa.

Heidi's professional opinion had been that is was a bad idea for Wren to go to work for Chris, especially since she was still secretly in love with him. She also thought it was a bad idea for Wren to get closer to Addy, when she had already fallen in love with the little girl. Her best friend advice slash opinion had been pretty similar to her professional one, but she knew that Wren would do anything for Chris and, suspected based on the interactions she had witnessed or heard about in the past, that he would do the same for Wren.

Armed with Heidi's advice and her own thoughts on the situation, Wren had agreed to help Chris out with Addy on the condition that the little girl attend daycare for at least three half-days a week. As an educator, Wren knew it was vital for Addy to spend time with kids her own age, especially since she was an only child.

Chris and Addy, both, had been excited when Wren had agreed to the take the job. The first couple weeks, however, had been a rough transition as they worked out the kinks and the hiccups to their schedules. Eventually though, it had all become relatively seamless.

On mornings that Chris had an early call time, Wren would arrive at the house an hour before he had to leave. Whereas, on the mornings that he had a late call time, Chris would either take Addy to daycare or get her up and ready for the day before Wren got to the house.

On the days that Addy went to daycare, Wren would pick her up before lunch and they'd spend the afternoon together. Typically, on those days, they'd go to the house for lunch, nap time and some afternoon activity. On the days they spent all day together, they typically left the house after an early lunch and used transportation time as naptime.

No matter his call time, Chris was usually home between six and seven in the evening, which meant he was either home in time for dinner or in time to put Addy to bed. Either way, Wren always made sure that there was enough dinner for him and kept his meals warm, if needed.

On the days that Chris had night shoots, Wren got to the house just before dinner and ate with Chris and Addy since Chris had to leave right after they finished. After Chris left, Wren always let Addy help clean up dinner and then let her spend a little bit longer playing in the bathtub. Nevertheless, the little girl was always in her bed by eight p.m. and Wren had the evening to herself, usually spent watching Chris's vast collection of movies. She usually retired to the guest room by eleven p.m. and left the door open a crack just in case Addy needed her.

Since most of the night shoots happened on Friday nights, Wren was usually woken up to the sound of Chris and Addy laughing as he carried his daughter downstairs to make breakfast. Wren usually gave them some extra time alone before she ventured downstairs. By that point, Chris was practically hooked up to a coffee IV, which meant that after breakfast, he went to bed and Wren drove Addy over to his mom's house for the morning.

On the weekends she wasn't helping Chris, Wren's spent most of the weekend at her apartment getting caught up on laundry and other things that seemed to slip by her during the week. It also gave her time to plan the next week for herself and Addy around Chris's schedule.

At first, Wren left their house as soon as Chris arrived home from work, wanting to give father and daughter some time alone together. That changed, however, when Addy started asking for Wren to help tuck her in and Wren couldn't tell the little girl no.

After that, it was only natural that Chris started asking Wren to stick around, too, claiming he was too amped to go to sleep and wanted to watch a movie or something. They always put on a movie, but they didn't always watch it. Sometimes they played cards and sometimes they talked. They talked about their families, their jobs and her love life (not that there really was one to talk about), but any time his past relationships came up, especially the one with Jessa, he was suddenly tired and asking Wren to leave.

The first time that happened, Wren chose not to let it bug her, after all, Chris had put in a full day on set, but the second and then third time it happened, she had begun to take it personally. In the past, there hadn't been anything that they couldn't talk about, but there clearly was now. It was obvious to her, more now than ever, that the Chris that had returned to Boston as a single dad was not the same Chris who'd left as a newlywed.

The Chris that Wren had met at the tender age of 13, had been lively and the first to chase after you if he sensed something was wrong. They had met doing summer theater together and she had witnessed several of his "encouragement" sessions, but hadn't experienced one until the summer she had been 14 and he, newly, 15.

The play that summer had been Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. She had been cast as Snow White and Chris her Prince Charming. She had auditioned for the role knowing that she would have to kiss someone, but when the time came to practice that scene, she just couldn't do it. Every time Chris had leaned down to kiss her, she had felt every eye in the auditorium watching them and she'd yank her head out of the way at the last second.

After one particularly embarrassing dodge, that resulted in Chris kissing her nose, Wren had fled from the stage and out one of the stage doors. She had paced the parking lot and had nervously applied her favorite blue raspberry chap stick that she always kept in her pocket. She had just stuffed the stick back into her pocket when Chris had found her.

At first, she thought he was angry, but he had dispelled that thought by asking her how she was doing. She had assured him she was ok, which had led to him asking what was wrong. She hadn't wanted to tell him the truth, but he had coaxed it out of her, promising that he could help, whatever it was. She had doubted that fact, but had given in and told him the truth: she'd never kissed anyone.

Wren had expected for Chris to be surprised after she'd made her confession, but he had just nodded his head like he had expected it. Then the idiot had offered to kiss her, like it was no big deal. She had been both embarrassed and mad, obviously, she hadn't been in love with him at that point and she had let him know exactly how she'd felt about his offer.

Chris had quickly apologized for his lackadaisical offer, but had reminded her that, short of letting her understudy take her part in the play, there was no way around the kiss. After all, if they skipped the kiss until opening night, there would 250 sets of eyes watching her have her first kiss.

After listening to his reasoning and coming up with her own similar conclusion, Wren had given her approval. Chris had told her to relax and then had leaned in, pressing his lips against hers. It had been a chaste kiss, but it had been a kiss and, in the end, it had helped break the tension she had been feeling on stage.

Though they had already known each other for a year, at that point, that moment in the parking lot had been the true start of their friendship. She had already known his mom and siblings from the summer theater program, but once she had been deemed a friend by Chris, the whole Evans' family had taken her under their wings. Chris's parents had even reached out to her parents, introducing them to their social circle.

After that, despite being a grade apart, Chris and Wren had spent most of the school year that followed hanging out together. They'd suffered through driver's education together as soon as Wren had turned 15 as well as acted together in the school's theater program.

It had been at the end of that school year, Wren's freshman year of high school and Chris's sophomore year, when Wren had realized that she liked Chris as more than a friend. She wasn't sure when or how it had happened, but suddenly, one day, he was telling his mom something and the light coming in the window just sort of hit him right and Wren had realized how cute he was.

Initially, Wren had tried to shake off the feelings and, instead, had tried to channel them in a different direction, but it couldn't be helped and her feelings had only gotten stronger over the course of the summer.

By the end of the summer, she had been ready to tell Chris how she felt. There was just one little problem. While she had been trying to put some distance between them to try and calm down her feelings, he had been using that time to meet girls and had successfully gotten a summer girlfriend. Not wanting to ruin his happiness, Wren had decided to hide her feelings from him.

Of course, at age 15, Wren hadn't imagined that she would still be in love with her best friend at age 38 and have him still be none the wiser, but that was the truth of her situation. She wasn't sure if there would ever be a time or a situation for her to let her secret out, but it certainly wasn't now.

Chris might be single and in Boston again, but the fact that he was putting up a metaphorical wall between them, told Wren that he was not in a frame of mind to find out his best friend loved him. At this point, all she could do to help was be there for him.

Which is why she started accepting Chris's invitations to spend Saturdays with him and Addy. Logically, she knew it wasn't wise, but she couldn't help it, she loved spending time with the two of them and they clearly loved having her around.

It had been on one of those Saturdays that Wren got a phone call from a school in Albany, New York. She had sent the school her resume the summer after Chris had married, hoping that a change of scenery would help her in her quest to get over him, but the school hadn't had any open positions, at the time. Now, however, they did and she was one of three people they wanted to interview for a job starting in mid August.


	5. Chapter 4

August 3-4, 2020

The first week of August started with Wren's interview at the school in Albany, New York. Since the school was roughly three hours away from the Boston suburb where she lived and the interview was at ten a.m. that Monday morning, she had left the night before and had stayed in a hotel. Which meant that when she got to her interview, she was relaxed and not stressed out from trying to get there on time.

In Wren's opinion, the interview had gone great. One of the interviewers had been Dr. Abigail Saul, the school's principal, who Wren had met a couple years back when she had attended a teacher workshop at the school. Dr. Saul had given her a tour of the school campus and had even shown Wren the classroom that could potentially be hers. The principal had even mentioned that she knew of someone wanting to rent out a fully furnished guest cottage, should Wren get the position and want to move to Albany.

It was early afternoon, by the time, Wren left Albany and her trip home was slower than it should have been thanks to heavy summer traffic. Glancing at the clock on her dashboard, she realized that she wasn't going to be home in time to make Chris and Addy a proper dinner like she had told Chris she would.

After receiving the phone call on Saturday, Wren had told Chris that she needed Monday off, but she hadn't told him she had an interview, only that she had an appointment out of town. She wasn't sure why she hadn't told him the truth, but something had stopped her. Nevertheless, she and Chris had managed to work out a plan that would cover the day: since he had a late call that morning, he had taken Addy to daycare and had arranged for her friend Lola's mom to take Addy home with them for a play date.

Wanting to keep her end of the deal, Wren waited until she was thirty minutes out before she ordered Chinese food from her and Chris's favorite place. By the time she got there, it was ready and she managed to get to Chris's place about ten minutes before he and Addy got home at 6:30.

"WREN!" Addy exclaimed the moment she came into the house and saw her.

"Addy!" Wren mimicked and laughed when the little girl wrapped her arms around her legs. With ease, Wren hoisted the little girl up and set her on the island counter. "How was your day? Did you have fun with Lola?"

"Uh huh," the little girl nodded, her blonde pigtails bouncing. "We played with playdoh! And Barbies! And Legos! And her puppy!" Her smile then turned into a frown and she stuck out her lower lip. "I want a puppy, Wren, but daddy says we can't get one."

"Adelaide," Chris warned. "We already discussed this in the car, we can't get a dog right now. Maybe in a couple years."

Addy crossed her arms and furrowed her brow as she glared at him. Then, just as suddenly as her pout had begun, it disappeared. "Wren! You can get a puppy!" she exclaimed.

"I don't have time for a puppy," Wren laughed as she smoothed her hand over Addy's blonde hair. "But you know what I do have time for?"

"What?" Addy asked, unaware that her attention was purposefully being diverted.

"Chinese food," Wren told her. "And fortune cookies."

"I love that stuff!" Addy exclaimed. "I want to eat all of it!"

Wren laughed and let the little girl down off the counter. "Go wash your hands, squirt," she told Addy.

Addy ran out of the room and they soon heard her turn on the sink in the bathroom before she started singing happy birthday or at least the parts of it that she could remember.

Wren chuckled as she grabbed plates from the cupboard and began to put food on Addy's favorite Frozen character plate. She heard Chris moving around the kitchen behind her and heard him pour milk into a sippy cup for Addy before he opened a bottle of beer for himself and one for Wren.

By the time Addy returned to the kitchen, her plate was on the table and Chris hoisted her into her booster seat. He and Wren then took turns putting food on their own plates before they joined the toddler at the table. She kept them thoroughly entertained as she told them all about her day in between bites of food and sips of milk. She didn't seem to notice that her dad and Wren were both quieter than normal.

Wren knew why she wasn't talking, but she wasn't sure why Chris wasn't. Having known him for as long as she had, she could tell he was irritated by something, there was just something about his positioning and the way he'd closed the cabinet doors harder than he needed to earlier.

Once they finished eating, Wren cleaned up the kitchen while Chris gave Addy a bath. Wren's original plan had been to leave after cleaning, but Addy asked her to read her a story and she couldn't say no, especially after missing the girl all day.

It took nearly an hour to get the little girl down for the night, thanks to all the excitement in her day, but she finally nodded off when Chris was halfway through the book she requested that he read to her. She didn't even flinch when Chris climbed off the bed or when he and Wren tiptoed out of the room, closing the door.

With Addy was asleep, Wren headed downstairs intent on heading home and putting herself to bed, but Chris waylaid her by asking about her appointment. "It went fine," she replied. "Great actually."

"Good," he nodded, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his jeans.

"How was your day?" she asked him, unable to stop herself. Chris had been her best friend for so long that somethings were just second nature, liking trying to help him when she could tell something was bugging him even if it cost her in the end. She was, as Heidi liked to describe, a glutton for punishment.

"My day was good," he responded. He nodded his head as if trying to convince them both that he was speaking the truth.

"Chris, whatever it is you need to say, just say it," Wren snapped then sighed. "Sorry, that was rude of me. I'm just exhausted and I want to go home so I can go to sleep."

Her outburst had clearly surprised him and it took him a minute before he nodded again. "Addy can't go to Lola's house anymore," he finally said.

"What? Why?" Wren asked, alarmed. "She and Addy love playing together."

"I don't like her mom," Chris stated, shaking his head. "The woman won't stop trying to fix me up! It doesn't matter how many times I tell her I'm not interested and that I'm never going to remarry -"

Wren's heart dropped to her stomach at Chris's words. He continued to talk, but she didn't hear anything he said after 'I'm never going to remarry'. "Why not?" she demanded, her voice louder than she intended it to be.

"Why not, what?" Chris asked, obviously confused.

"Why aren't you going to remarry?" she asked, her voice softer as her blue eyes met his blue eyes.

"You're joking, right?" Chris stared at her in disbelief. "Wren, I did everything right! I met a woman, I fell in love with her, married her, had a kid with her and it all blew up in my fucking face!" He shook his head. "I am never going through that again."

"But what if you meet so-" Wren started, but Chris cut her off, "Wren, I'm not doing that again. I won't put myself in that position to get hurt like that a second time."

Wren bit down on her lower lip to keep back the tears that threatened to fall. "I need to go," she stated. She grabbed her purse and quickly fled the house, ignoring Chris as he called after her. She fought back her tears on the short drive to her apartment and waited until she was in the privacy of her own room before she let them fall.

When Wren woke up the next morning, she found Heidi asleep next to her. She had been so caught up in her heartbreak that she couldn't remember her roommate coming into the room much less getting home.

Thankful that Chris had another late call, Wren took a long shower and had another good cry as the hot water helped work out the sore muscles in her neck. Chris's words last night had been like a knife to her heart. She had known that he was bitter over his divorce, but he had always been a romantic and ready for the next love of his life after he'd broken up with someone. Clearly, that wasn't the case anymore.

A little over an hour later, Wren was sitting on the couch with Heidi watching some crime show when her phone rang. Reaching over, Wren grabbed it off the coffee table and nearly dropped it when she saw it was Dr. Saul.

"Answer it!" Heidi exclaimed.

Wren cleared her throat and then answered the call, "Hello?"

"Lauren?" Dr. Saul asked.

"This is she," Wren replied.

"This is, Dr. Saul," the woman said. "I'm calling to officially offer you the job."

Wren's heart skipped a beat while Heidi, who had obviously overheard the offer, was shaking with happiness. Wren closed her eyes and made the most important decision of her life in a split second: "I accept."


	6. Chapter 5

August 4-7, 2020

That afternoon, Wren was sitting at the island in Chris's kitchen and making lists of everything she needed to do during the next two weeks while Addy took her afternoon nap. Wren was so focused on her task that she didn't hear the front door open and close or realize she wasn't alone until she was grabbed from behind.

Screaming, she leapt from the stool, nearly falling on the floor before a pair of strong arms grabbed her and hauled her back to her feet. Breathless, she stared up into the amused eyes of Chris's younger brother.

"Damn it, Scott!" she exclaimed, pounding her fists on his chest as he laughed heartily. "I hate when you do that!"

"Sorry, I couldn't resist," he replied, letting her go. "You were so focused on your damn lists again."

"Honestly, you and your brother could use a list or two," she stated, shaking her head. Her heart thudded at the thought of Chris and it used every bit of will she had to not let her heartache show on her face. "When did you get into town, anyway?"

"Last night," Scott replied as he made his way over to the fridge. He pulled out two bottles of water and then carried them over to where she was sitting. "Mom told me you were watching Addy today so I thought, I'd -" He stopped talking as his eyes zeroed in on the words written at the top of the pad of paper. " _Things to do before I move?_ You're moving? When?"

"Next week," Wren answered. "I got a job offer." She chewed on her lower lip as she waited for Scott to ask the next obvious question.

"Where is it?" he asked, his voice was even and steady, too much so. It was as if he knew there was another shoe about to be dropped.

"Not in Massachusetts," she told him. She couldn't look at him while he processed the information, especially since she had only ruled out one state.

"What happened?" he asked, softly. "Is it Chris? Have you told him?"

"No!" she exclaimed, looking up at him. "I haven't told him anything."

"But it is Chris, isn't it?"

Wren nodded and sniffed. The tears started to fall just as Scott got off his stool and wrapped his arms around her. He let her cry for a few minutes before he asked what had happened. With tears in her eyes, Wren relayed what Chris had said the night before about never getting married again.

"It was a sign," she muttered. "He isn't the same guy I fell in love with. Not anymore."

"But you do still love him, right?"

Wren nodded.

"Then you have to tell him," Scott stated.

Wren's jaw dropped and she shook her head in disbelief.

"You promised me you would tell him one day," he reminded her. "You promised that if I came out to my family that you would tell Chris what you felt for him."

"It doesn't matter anymore!" Wren exclaimed. "And keeping this from him is not like you hiding your true self from your family and friends!"

"We had a deal, Wren," Scott said firmly. "You have to tell him. Or I will."

Wren glared at her friend. "It won't make any difference, Scott," she insisted. "Chris's mind is made up. He doesn't want to be with anyone else."

"But you aren't 'anyone else'," Scott stated. "You're Wren! _His_ Wren!"

"Scott, I've spent the last 24 years living in a dream world only to have it crash at my feet," Wren sighed. "I've woken up and it's time for you to do the same."

"Uncle Scottie!" Addy's voice brought their conversation to a screeching halt.

"Go fix yourself up," Scott muttered before plastering a smile on his face and greeting his niece with a hug and a raspberry on her neck.

Scott kept Addy entertained the rest of the day while Wren made her lists. The little girl thrived under her uncle's attention and was too busy telling him about her morning at daycare to notice that Wren wasn't herself.

When Chris got home, Wren made her apologies, claiming that she had plans with Heidi and couldn't stay for dinner. She felt Chris's eyes on her as she said goodbye to Addy and then gathered her stuff.

"Wren, wait," Scott called as he followed her out the front door. "Just promise me that if the opportunity arises, you'll tell him."

"I promise," Wren replied while crossing her fingers out of his sight. She gave her favorite Evans brother a hug and then walked to her car.

That evening, she and Heidi drank wine as they started packing up her bedroom. Since the guest cottage Dr. Saul had told her about was fully furnished, all of her furniture would be going to her parents’ house.

"What am I going to do without you?" Heidi asked as she put books in a box.

"Meet a nice guy, settled down and have a family?" Wren suggested.

"Will you come back for the wedding?" Heidi asked.

"Not if it's here," Wren replied, after a moment. After she had accepted the job in Albany, she had decided that she needed a clean break from everything that reminded her of Chris and that included his family, this time, and the entire state.

"You're right, that was selfish of me to even ask," Heidi sighed. "I'm going to miss you so much."

"Albany is only three hours away," Wren laughed. "You can come visit me whenever you want!"

For the next two days, Chris and Wren were like two ships in the night. He had early calls both days and barely mumbled hello to her when she arrived at the house so he could leave. She channeled the slight guilt she had for not telling him she was moving into giving Addy extra attention. It broke her heart knowing she'd have to say goodbye to the little girl, but she knew it would be better in the end to cut ties when Addy was still young.

On both nights, Wren excused herself from dinner with Chris and Addy claiming she had to go to the school for a couple hours, which wasn't a complete lie. She let Chris think it was so she could get her classroom ready for the upcoming school year, but, in reality, she was removing all of her personal effects from the classroom and packing it to move.

When Friday came around, Wren had most of her stuff packed up and ready to take a load to Albany the next day. She was in the middle of boxing up her knitting stuff when her phone rang.

Not recognizing the number, she answered it cautiously. "Hello?"

"May I speak to Wren please?" a woman asked.

"This is she," Wren replied.

"Wren, I am a nurse at Dr. Adams office and we have Chris Evans here waiting for a ride home," the woman explained.

"Is he ok?" Wren asked, panic rushing through her veins as she imagined the worse.

"He's fine," the woman assured her. "The procedure went perfectly. He just needs a ride home."

Wren got the address from the woman and then left her apartment. The word 'procedure' floated around her mind as she made the twenty minute drive. She wasn't sure what Chris had had done, but he certainly hadn't mentioned anything about not being on set today.

Arriving at the doctor's office, Wren parked and then went inside to find Chris. She was greeted by the receptionist who told her he would be right out.

It took a few minutes, but Chris finally emerged from the back of the office with a nurse by his side.

"Here is the paperwork in case you guys have any questions," the nurse said handing Wren the papers. "Vasectomies are pretty easy, but call if anything doesn't feel right."

"Th- thank you," Wren stammered as her already broken heart shattered into a million pieces. At the same time, however, it cemented the fact that she was making the best decision to move away. She wanted to be a mom and, obviously, Chris wasn't interested in having any more kids. "Does he need to be monitored at all?" she asked the nurse.

"No, he just needs to rest," the nurse assured her. "He'll be good as new in a week or so."

Wren sunk her teeth into her lower lip when the nurse winked at her. Finding her voice, she said, "Let's go." With every step she took out to the car, the more frustrated she became with him.

Chris followed her out to the car silently and got into the front passenger seat. Wren got into the driver's seat and slammed the door.

"What in the fuck did Jessa do to you?!" she exploded, unable to hold back her frustration with him. "First never getting married again and now this!"

"I don't want to talk ab-"

"I don't give a shit!" she exclaimed. "What the hell is going on, Chris?"

"She didn't want Adelaide," he said.

Wren's mouth went dry at his words. She hadn't been expecting that. "What do you mean she didn't want Addy?" she asked.

"She never wanted to be a mom," Chris revealed the horrible truth. "She divorced me knowing that I would choose Addy over her."

Wren stared at the steering wheel as her heart broke for the little girl. A part of her wanted to call Dr. Saul and say things had changed and she couldn't accept the job. Not for Chris, but for Addy.

"I can't do anything about Jessa," Chris said. "But I can protect my daughter and myself from being hurt again."

His words worked like a cold shower, sobering her to the reality of the situation. She was still in love with a man who would never give her what she truly desired: his love and babies of her own. Yes, she loved his little girl, but she couldn't put her life on hold anymore. She was nearly 40 years old. Besides, Chris had a large family that would willingly help him whenever he needed it.

"Can you take me home now?" he asked, after a moment.

Wren nodded and started the car. They drove in silence until they reached the house.

"I can't help you with Addy next week," she told him. "I'm moving this weekend."

"Where?" he asked, pausing with his hand on the door handle.

"I got a job," she replied, purposely not answering his question. "I'll be too far away to help."

"You're not going to tell me where?" he asked, turning to look at her.

"I can't," she said, her voice cracking. "Please get out of the car, Chris."

She could feel him watching her, but she kept her eyes focused on her hands. She heard him sigh before he opened the car door and got out.

Looking up, she saw him unlock his front door and push it open. He glanced back at the car and their eyes met for a moment before he disappeared into the house.

Wren pulled away from the curb and drove around the corner before she pulled over and put the car in park. A gut wrenching sob spilled from her lips as big tears broke free from her eyes.

She cried until no more tears would come and then she took a deep breath and sent Scott a text:

**Ur brother is at home. He got a vasectomy this morning. I couldn't tell him. But I quit. Addy is at daycare. Someone needs to pick her up at 11:30.**

Then she turned off her phone and drove home.

"Where have you -" Heidi's question died on her lips when she saw Wren's blood shot eyes. She held onto her friend as Wren told her everything that had transpired in the last hour or so.

"We'll move you tomorrow," Heidi said, smoothing Wren's hair. "You'll get through this, I promise."

Later that night, Wren turned on her phone to call her parents and saw that there were twenty texts from Scott and a handful from Chris's mom and sisters.

"A clean break," she reminded herself as she typed a simple reply to all four of them.

**I love you guys. But I can't do this anymore.**

Then she turned off her phone again and used Heidi's to call her parents. Wren had already told her parents she'd gotten a job in Albany, but they were both shocked at first when she told them she was moving that weekend and wouldn't be returning. She had never told her parents that she was in love with Chris, but she suspected that her mom always knew. Her parents were understanding when she told them she had to move and her dad promised to take care of moving her furniture out of the apartment. He promised her that they would come to Albany for holidays and they had ended the call with 'I love you's.

Before going to sleep, Wren booted up her computer and deleted her Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts. Tomorrow she would start her new life in New York and get a new phone number.


	7. Chapter 6

August through October 2020

After Wren left, Chris spent the first two days mad at her for the way she had forced him to tell her about Jessa. He'd already felt like a massive failure, but now that his best friend knew, he felt like even more of one.

Not to mention that he had been completely blindsided by her announcement. So much so that the full impact of her sudden departure didn't hit him until Sunday night when his brother showed up at the house with Addy, who'd spent the weekend with his mom. Wren being gone meant that he had no one to help him out with Addy for the next week or the weeks after that. He waited until after Addy was in bed to call his mom and see if she and/or his sisters could help him out at all.

The biggest adjustment to the schedule was that Addy started attending daycare every day. For the first two days, it was ok but by Wednesday the toddler started acting out. It started during dinner with his mom and siblings; Addy was fine one minute and then screaming and crying for Wren the next.

Chris did his best to console her, but nothing he did could change the fact that Wren had abandoned her. It took the better part of two hours to get Addy to fall asleep and then Chris had to leave her at his mom's house because he had an early call time the next morning. It broke his heart to leave his little girl there when she was so upset, but he didn't have a choice.

As the week progressed, Addy's temper tantrums got worse and began to remind Chris of the ones that they had experienced shortly after he and Addy had moved out of his mom's house. She would be perfectly fine one moment and then dissolve into a puddle of tears and flinging limbs. Each time, it took him hours to settle her down.

By Friday night, Chris's anger with Wren reached a boiling point. He was livid with her for the way that she had just waltzed out of their lives like it was no big deal, like they would be perfectly fine without her. Especially after she had all but forced him to tell her about Jessa not wanting Addy. That fact alone should have stopped her from leaving, but no, his _former_ best friend had run out of their lives like her pants were on fire.

His mom's annual end of summer barbeque was that weekend and Chris hoped Wren would show up so he could have words with her, but unlike years previous, neither she nor her parents came. He tried to drink away the unease that settled in his chest over their absence, but it only proved to be his downfall. All the angry thoughts he'd had about Wren during the week forced themselves out of his mouth and he spewed them to anyone who would listen.

Chris woke up the next morning with a killer hangover and a sick feeling that had nothing to do with the amount of drinking he'd done the night before. He couldn't remember everything he had said, but he remembered enough to know it had been bad.

Scott was the one to draw the short straw, or so he claimed, and escorted Chris out of their mom's house with the promise of a greasy breakfast. It was over their choice hangover food at a local hole-in-the-wall dinner that Scott laid all the cards on the table.

"Wren did not abandon Addy," he stated. "She did not abandon you, either. She isn't Jessa, Chris. Besides, you knew from the very beginning of this whole arrangement that she was going to go back to work in the fall."

Chris didn't argue with him, because logically he knew that his brother was speaking the truth. It didn't, however, softened the blow that was Wren walking out of his and Addy's lives.

"Maybe you should talk to someone," his brother suggested. "What you went through with Jessa changed you, Chris. The past week shows that you're still holding onto a lot of anger towards her, but it came out towards Wren and not the person you're really mad at."

Chris took Scott's word to heart and arranged for a therapist to meet with him one day a week during his lunch break on set. The first session was the awkward get to know you type that left him feeling frustrated and ready to call it all off, but he stuck with it. Following the second and third appointments, he felt a little better after getting things off his chest. He found he was still angry with Jessa, but he didn't want to punch a wall every time he thought of her anymore.

As part of his healing process, Chris realize he had to change things for himself and Addy. His mom and sisters were making it work, but he hated the nights when Addy stayed with them and he hated that he hardly got to spend any time alone with her. Sure, they had their weekends, but they'd spent more of those weekends with her in front of the TV while he tried to tackle all the household chores that fell by the wayside during the week.

It was during one of their rare full weekends together that he finally had a chance to teach Addy how to ride a bicycle with training wheels. As he watched her pedal her heart out, the solution to his problem presented itself in the form of his next door neighbor, Miss Loretta. Addy was delighted to see the 60-something year-old woman and Chris vaguely recalled Wren mentioning the woman to him in one of their chats earlier in the summer.

Miss Loretta was a widowed woman whose four grandsons had been students of Wren's. She had retired shortly after her oldest grandson had been born and had spent the last several years playing nanny to her grandkids, but they were all in school now which left her lots of time for volunteering.

It took Chris a week after meeting Miss Loretta to offer her the job as Addy's nanny and his part time housekeeper. She accepted immediately and started the next week. The change in Addy was almost overnight after they'd gotten her back to the schedule she'd been on during the summer. She still attended daycare five days a week, but left either right before or right after lunch and took naps at home.

During the first week of October, Chris used a day off from filming to take Addy to see the therapist that was helping him work out his Jessa issues. Things had gotten better since Miss Loretta had taken over Addy's care, but Chris still wanted to make sure his little girl was ok. Having two women who she dearly loved walk out of her life within months of each other couldn't be good. Not that he had mentioned Wren to the therapist yet. That was a whole different situation, one that he himself wasn't entirely sure about.

Addy was hesitant, at first, when they arrived at the therapist's office, but once she saw all the toys there were to play with, she had all but run into the room. Chris sat in the room next door watching her interactions with the therapist through a one-way mirror. The session lasted only thirty minutes or so before the therapist came into where Chris was waiting and assured Chris that, at that time, Addy appeared to be a perfectly normal 3-year-old.

It wasn't until Chris's next session that the therapist brought up the topic that Addy had talked about most: Wren.

"Wren is or was, I don't know exactly what she is now, but we were best friends," Chris explained. "She helped me with Addy this summer, but took a job out of state in early August."

"And how did that make you feel?" the therapist asked. "Especially on the heels of Jessa leaving the two of you."

The question forced Chris to rehash what he had told the therapist during their first meeting, but this time, he had included the parts about Wren. The first time, he had sort of glossed over her, but he knew he couldn't this time. He found that once he started talking about Wren, he couldn't stop.

Even after his appointment ended, Wren stayed at the forefront of his mind. He was able to finish the work day and do what he needed with Addy, but after that, his mind became an instant replay of the moments in his and Wren's life together.

He remembered the first time he kissed her and the way his lips had tasted like her blue raspberry chapstick after the kiss. The fact that he remembered the flavor surprised him, especially since he couldn't remember recall what the perfumes that Jessa or any of his previous girlfriends had worn without walking past the scent.

From there, his mind traveled to his senior prom and the way that Wren had sought him out after his date had gotten back together with her ex. He had been ready to leave the prom, but she had talked him into staying and had even offered to be his date for the rest of the night since she'd come with a group of friends.

Then came the memories of the stupid antics they'd gotten into in their twenties. Like the time he'd visited her at school and snuck into the girls only dorm and then had nearly gotten discovered by the resident assistant. Or that New Year's Eve when they'd stayed up all night talking and hadn't gone to bed until the sun had come up on January 1st.

All that thinking led him to one conclusion: Wren had taken a piece of his heart with her when she'd left and, with every memory that flickered across his brain, the hole got a little bigger. It was in the wee hours of the morning that the truth of the situation punched him in the gut: he had lost his best friend and he had no one to blame but himself.


	8. Chapter 7

Thanksgiving 2020

The rest of October and most of November passed quickly for Chris and Addy and before they knew it, it was Thanksgiving Day. As per tradition, they arrived at his mom's house just in time for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade to begin.

Chris helped Addy put a cinnamon roll on a plate and then got her a sippy cup of milk before she joined her cousins in front of the TV. He quickly fixed his own plate and then took a seat next to his younger sister on the couch.

"I'm happy you guys are here this year," she said glancing at him with a smile.

"Me, too," he agreed.

He and Jessa had met when she'd been a wardrobe assistant on the first Avenger’s movie, but they hadn't really hit it off until they'd met again during the filming for Avengers: Age of Ultron. She had been dating someone at the time, but there had been something about her that had called to him. So, when she'd showed up to the Captain America: Civil War set single, he hadn't wasted a second before asking her out.

Considering they'd married within a year's time, things had developed pretty quickly for them and he had given up living on the East Coast when she'd taken a TV show job in Los Angeles. Said job had made it nearly impossible for them to travel from coast to coast for a short trip, especially with a toddler, so they'd spent the last three Thanksgivings out west, away from his family.

"Daddy! Look it's you!" Addy shouted excitedly, pointing at the Captain America on the TV.

"Inside voices, Addy," he chuckled as a Marvel float with most of the iconic characters on it crossed their screen. Glancing around the room and seeing his family members gathered together made it seem like the old days where the only thing missing was Wren and parents. "Mom, when are the Arnolds' getting here?"

Chris's eyes followed his mom's as she glanced at his brother and then followed his brother's eyes as they went to their older sister then back to their mom. Even his younger sister shifted awkwardly in her seat next to him. Clearly, they all knew something he didn't.

"The Arnolds' aren't coming today," his mom finally answered. "They went to spend the day with -" she glanced in kids’ direction and saw that they were looking at her. "- with their daughter."

Chris could feel his mom and siblings watching him as he processed to the news. He felt crushed. He'd spent the last two months working through the issues that had been a result of his relationship with Jessa, but also ones that, according to his therapist, stemmed back from when his parents divorced. Not to mention, the memories of Wren that had swirled around his head and made appearances in his therapy sessions. He had been looking forward getting a chance to talk to her and apologize to her for being the world's biggest asshole in her final days with him.

But clearly, those final days had caused more damage than he'd realized. It was clear to him now that Wren hated him and wanted nothing to do with him. Why else would she have changed her phone number? A fact he'd learned in late October when he'd tried to call her.

"I need coffee," he said, standing up. The kids had, thankfully, turned their attention back to the TV, but he didn't want to break down in front of them, especially not Addy. His little girl had the biggest heart and was prone to crying when she saw people around her crying.

Going into the kitchen, Chris poured himself a cup of coffee and then grabbed a bottle of whiskey from the cabinet and added a couple splashes to his coffee. He held onto the bottle a second longer than necessary, tempted to just drink it instead of his coffee, but shook off the thought. He screwed the lid back on and then headed for the stairs down to the basement, needing sometime alone to process everything.

At the start of the summer, Wren had been who she'd always been to him: his best friend in the whole world. Then she'd started helping with Addy and she'd quickly become the person he wanted to help him raise Addy. At the time, he hadn't picture anything more than a friendship with her, because that had been their role in each other’s life. But sometime during the summer, his feelings had gotten convoluted and even now, four months later, he still wasn't sure what his feelings for Wren were.

He loved her, obviously, but it wasn't like the love he had for his other friends. Not to mention that it was a totally different love than he'd had for his previous girlfriends, too. Just like the woman herself, his love for Wren was totally unique.

"I thought I'd find you down here," Scott said, coming down the stairs. "You ok?"

"She hates me, doesn't she?" Chris asked, staring down at his empty mug. He couldn't look at his brother's face for fear of what his expression would be.

"Wren? Hate you?" Scott let out a laugh so obnoxious Chris had to look up at him. "Hate is the last thing she feels about you."

"But you didn't see her face that day," Chris stated, not even having to close his eyes to see the broken expression that had been on Wren's face that last day. "And she didn't come today."

"You broke her heart, Chris," Scott said as he sat down on the couch. "She might have been mad at you, but the poor girl has been in love with your sorry ass since we were in high school."

"She's what?" Chris asked, dumbstruck. "No way. I would have known."

"You didn't," Scott said with a chuckle. "She and I got a little tipsy after her senior prom. I told her I was gay and she told me she was in love with you."

Chris shook his head in disbelief. He and Wren had been out of high school for twenty years and she hadn't said a word.

"It was never the time for her to tell you," Scott explained with a sigh. "I tried to get her to tell you before she left, but, well, you know what happened."

Chris nodded as guilt flooded his stomach. His therapist had theorized that his comments to Wren about never marrying again as well as his sudden need to get a vasectomy had been part of the subconscious changes in his feelings towards Wren. That theory, added to the knowledge that she'd been in love with him, explained why she had been so hurt and why she had fled so quickly.

"She's never coming back, is she?" he asked.

"I don't know," Scott replied. "But I think she deserves the chance to move on with her life if she can."

"Will you tell her I'm sorry about everything?" Chris asked.

"Chris, she cut us all out of her life," Scott said, slowly. "All we know is what her mom has told mom. Wren is settled and loves her new job."

The rest of the day was a blur for Chris as he tried to process all the information floating in his head. He wasn't sure if Scott's revelation was a help or a hindrance in the large scheme of things. If anything, it made his feelings for Wren even more confusing than they had been before.

Chris was still trying to process it all, a week later, when an unlisted number called him. In the past, he never would have answered a call from a restricted number, but knowing Wren was out there somewhere, he answered it quickly. To his dismay, it wasn't Wren, but to his complete and utter shock, it was Jessa.

"I'm sure you're wondering why I called you."

"A little," Chris lied through his teeth. After the way she had up and left the house after handing him the divorce and custody papers, including one in which she gave up her rights as Addy's mom, he had never expected to hear from her again.

"I'm engaged," she said, getting right to the point. "He just asked me tonight and I didn't want you to find out from someone else."

"You're engaged," he repeated in disbelief.

"I know it seems sudden," she said. "But I met him through a friend of a friend and he's amazing, Chris."

"Does _he_ know you don't want kids?" he cut her off, his tone bitter.

"Yes," Jessa replied, quietly. "And he is of the same mind."

"And does he know about Addy?"

"Yes."

Nothing was said for a couple minutes as Chris let everything absorb. His ex-wife was engaged just shy of a year after asking him for a divorce that had blindsided him completely.

"How did we get here, Jessa?" he asked with a sigh. "I thought we were happy. I thought things were good."

"That's because you were happy, Chris," she said. "You had everything you'd ever wanted. A wife and a kid." Her voice cracked. "I tried, Chris. I tried really hard to be the wife you needed me to be and the mother to Addy that you wanted me to be, but I wasn't being true to myself."

"What do you mean?" Chris asked her. He vaguely recalled her saying that at the beginning of their conversation, a year ago, but he'd shut down when she'd told him she didn't want to be a mom. A part of him didn't want to have this conversation, but he knew that this was an important conversation that needed to happen.

"I never wanted to be a mom, Chris." She sighed. "Then I met you and every time a kid came to set or you spent time with your costars' kids, I knew you were meant to be a dad. I knew that the world wouldn't be right if Chris Evans never had babies of his own." She sniffed. "I told myself that you wanting kids would be enough and that I could be happy by making you happy.

"And I was happy, Chris. I swear to you, I was happy. I was thrilled when you proposed and we started planning the wedding. And yes, I was terrified when I found out I was pregnant just hours before my final dress fitting, but I knew how happy you would be when you found out. And my God, you were the happiest I've ever seen you that night.

"Then we had Adelaide and she was perfect and you were perfect. And I felt like I had lost myself. It sounds horrible, I know, but I wanted to be back at work, helping with costumes for the movie, but I was stuck in a rental house with a screaming baby. Then we went back to LA and it got better for a bit, but I didn't feel the pull to her like you did. Like you do.

"My friend recommended a therapist and I put off seeing her until the summer that Adelaide turned two. I wanted desperately for her to tell me that I would get over it and we could keep living the way we were, but the sessions made me realize that by putting your dreams in front of mind, I had stifled myself."

Silence fell between them again as Chris processed what she had told him. He felt guilty for never asking her if she wanted to have kids and guilty for not noticing that she was depressed. But he also knew, from many hours spent with his own therapist, that some of the blame was on her, too, for not speaking up and not telling him what was going on.

"Do you regret it all?" he asked her.

"Us being together? No. Chris, I fell in love with you hard and fast. We made a beautiful daughter and I know that one day, she and I will have to talk about my decision, but I hope that she will be able to understand in the end."

"Where did we go wrong?"

"Honestly, I think we got caught up in being in love and wanting to get married before we reached our late 30's. It didn't help that we were on a set with people constantly telling us how perfect we were for each other." She laughed. "God, you should have had Wren come down to visit. They would have taken one look at the two of you and wondered why you were even wasting your time with me when she was in your life."

"What do you mean?" Chris demanded. He took a deep breath and then said, "Sorry. It's just that Wren and I sort of had a falling out a few months back."

"Oh, Chris, I'm so sorry," Jessa replied, her voice sincere. "She was lovely and always nice to me whenever we were together. I suspected that -"

"That she was in love with me?" Chris cut in.

"Oh, I knew she was in love with you," Jessa stated. "But I trusted you enough that I knew you'd never cheat on me and she was so genuine that I never worried about the two of you being alone together. No, what I suspected was that you'd move back to Boston and settle down with her. What happened?"

The idea of talking to his ex-wife about his problems with Wren made Chris want to roll his eyes, but in the end, that was exactly what he did. It took nearly another hour, but everything that had been circling in his head with no sense of organization spilled out of his mouth as Jessa listened. She made a few comments and observations, but for the most part just remained quiet.

By the time, Chris hit the end button on his phone, the storm cloud of thoughts that had been roaming around his head had settled down. He had tried to talk everything through with his therapist, just the other day, but it hadn't worked as well as talking to Jessa had done. Neither had talking to his mom. But with Jessa's help, he had come to a realization that should have startled him, but it didn't.

He loved Lauren "Wren" Arnold, his best friend, and in a more than "just friends" way.

Knowing there was something else he had to do, Chris sent his agent a text, asking him to find the doctor in the USA with the most successful vasectomy reversals. Success being measured in the number of kids born after the reversal.


	9. Chapter 8

New Year's Eve 2020 - April 2021

It was nearly midnight on New Year’s Eve when Wren carried a tray of cookies into the living room of her landlord's house. After putting the tray down, she surveyed the room taking in the almost odd reality that was the merger of her life in Albany with reminders from home. Her parents had arrived on Christmas Eve and Heidi had surprised her by showing up the day after Christmas. They would all be leaving in the morning, but she had loved spending time with them and introducing them to her new life.

Sitting on the couch talking to her parents was Josephine Whitaker, Wren's landlord, and the first person that she had met on the day she moved to Albany. The 75-year-old woman had been an amazing landlord, but an even better friend. She had given Wren that first month in Albany to feel sorry for herself and lick her wounds, but then the older woman had stepped in and had forced Wren back into the real world.

Making friends had never been hard for Wren; so when she had actually opened herself up to making friends, it had only been a matter of time before she and the school's other kindergarten teacher, Shania Larkin, had become friends. Shania was in her early thirties and had moved to Albany a couple years earlier after splitting up with her fiancé.

After Wren had told Jo and Shania why she'd come to Albany and what she had left behind, they'd both taken two very different approaches to helping her mend her broken heart. Jo had taken it upon herself to set Wren up with blind dates; none of which had been successful. Meanwhile, Shania had decided that Wren needed to live and embrace life, which led to them taking weekend and evening workshops and classes on everything from cake decorating to a beginner’s class on car maintenance.

There had been no blimps on the romance radar until Wren literally bumped into a tall, good looking guy with dark brown hair in her own driveway on Thanksgiving Day. Of course, he'd turned out to be Jo's nephew Adam. They had hit it off right away and he was everything she was looking for in a partner. There was just one little problem: she felt nothing for him. She had tried for a few weeks to see if something would change, but then they'd kissed and it had ended with them both laughing and agreeing that romance wasn't in the cards for them.

A smile stretched across Wren's face as she spotted Adam sitting in a quiet corner with Shania, their bodies bent towards each other as they talked quietly. She had accidentally set them up together when Shania had asked her to take a scuba diving course with her and Wren had turned her down, but Adam, who'd overheard the conversation, had expressed interest. Looking at them now, Wren wasn't sure why she hadn't realized how perfect the two of them were together.

Chris would love her new friends.

The thought came from nowhere and Wren let out a shaky breath. Suddenly needing air, she slipped into the kitchen and went out to the back patio. Taking a deep breath, she looked up at the sky. She'd been plagued by little thoughts or reminders of Chris and Addy ever since she'd come to Albany. The worst of the moments were when something would happen and she'd think 'I need to tell Chris about this' before remembering that she couldn't.

She didn't regret coming to Albany; she had needed to remove herself from the impossible situation she'd been caught up in. However, she did regret how she'd left things back in Sudbury. She hadn't gotten to say goodbye to Addy like she had wanted to. Then there was the last time she had talked to Chris as well as the days leading up to it. Just thinking about it all made her sick to her stomach.

"I thought I'd find you out here," Heidi said, coming out of the house. She was carrying a blanket with her and she handed one end of it to Wren to wrap around her shoulder and held onto the other part to put over her own shoulder.  "You ok?"

"I had a random thought that Chris would love Jo, Adam and Shania," Wren said as they stood close together to ward off the chill. "Which led to thinking about leaving Sudbury and you know." She took a deep breath. "I really made a mess of things, didn't I?"

"It wasn't pretty, but it wasn't all on you either," Heidi said with a small smile. "Did I tell you that Scott came to the apartment on Christmas Eve?" Wren shook her head. "I think he was there looking for you, but he did tell me a couple things."

Wren didn't say anything. She didn't feel like she had a right to know what Scott had told Heidi, especially since she was the one who'd chosen to leave Sudbury and remove the Evans family from her life. At the same time, however, she wanted to know that Chris, Addy and the rest of the family were ok.

As if sensing her friend's internal battle, Heidi continued. "He told me that Chris hired his neighbor to help with Addy and it's working out great."

Wren smiled at the news. She'd known that Miss Loretta would be the perfect person to help Chris. The older woman had volunteered in Wren's classroom a time or two when her grandsons had been in the class and all of the kids had loved her. Wren knew that Addy would thrive under her care.

"He also mentioned that he told Chris that you're in love with him."

Wren's smiled slipped from her face and she nodded solemnly at that statement, she’d known he would tell his brother eventually. She couldn't help but wonder how Chris had taken the news.

"There is something else you should know," Heidi said, interrupting Wren's thoughts. "Scott didn't tell me this part, but it feels like a good time to tell you this. A few weeks after you left, Chris called and asked me for a recommendation for a therapist."

"He did?" Wren asked, looking up at her friend. "What for?"

"He and I didn't talk about that part," Heidi said. "But he's getting help. Maybe your outburst and departure made him realize that something wasn't right?"

"Maybe," Wren nodded. She certainly hoped that her leaving had done some good for him even if it led to him eventually falling in love and marrying someone else. Again. Her eyes welled up with tears at the thought and they started rolling down her cheeks as the backdoor opened.

"There you two are," Shania's voice carried from the steps. "Come on, the ball's about to drop."

"You go," Wren told Heidi. "I'll be ok."

Heidi went into the house with Shania, leaving Wren in the backyard wrapped up in the blanket. Fireworks lit up the sky a minute or so later as 2021 arrived.

"No more sadness," she told herself aloud. "From this point on, if you think about Chris, you will smile. Yeah, those last couple days were shitty, but why should that overshadow twenty plus years of friendship?"

With her New Year's Resolution made, she went into the house and put a smile on as she wished everyone a happy new year. The party didn't last much longer and people began to leave. She said goodnight to her parents, who were staying in one of Jo's guestrooms, and then she and Heidi went out to the guest cottage.

The next morning, with her parents and Heidi due to leave, Wren got up early and went into the main house to make them all breakfast. She was just sliding the breakfast casserole into the oven when her dad came downstairs.

"Something smells good in here," he said with a smile. "Smells like your mom's breakfast in a pan casserole."

"That's because it is," Wren replied. "I made some coffee if you want some."

Side-by-side, father and daughter doctored their cups of coffee and then retired to the table on the far side of the kitchen.

"I'm proud of you for stepping out of your comfort zone like this," he said after a few minutes of silence.

"Thanks, dad," Wren replied. "I like it."

"All I want for you is to be happy," he continued. "And I'm sorry that it's been a solo journey to this point. But I know there is a guy out there for you and you're going to knock his socks off."

Wren smiled as tears pooled in the corner of her eyes. She leaned over and rested her head on her dad's shoulder. Her parents were the only family members she had and she wished that she lived closer to them.

"I love you, dad," she said.

"I love you, too, kiddo," he replied.

They sat quietly for another ten minutes before her mom and Jo came downstairs. Heidi arrived a few minutes after that and then the timer went off on the oven. Wren got up and took the casserole out and everyone dished themselves a large helping of the eggs, cheese sausage and potato breakfast.

Before Wren knew it, she was saying goodbye to her parents and Heidi, an hour or so later, as they got ready to head back to Massachusetts. She and Heidi made plans to get together during spring break and her parents told her they'd plan a long weekend soon.

School started again, a few days later, and Wren threw herself back into the job. Teaching was her passion and she loved seeing her students' faces light up as they learned new things. The first week or so back was rough, but once the five- and six-year-olds were back into the routine of being in school all day, their learning speed only increased.

Even though Shania was too busy with her scuba training and dating Adam to take classes, Wren continued to sign up for a workshop here and there and just enjoyed the opportunity to learn a new craft or skill. It was usually just her taking the course, but sometimes Shania, and occasionally Adam, took a class with her.

Before Wren knew it, spring had arrived with a beautiful showing of flowers and blossoming cherry trees. It was similar to spring in Sudbury, but different at the same time. She and Shania had jokingly started a countdown to spring break on the chalkboard in the staff room, but all of the other staff members had taken a turn (or more) to update the number of days left.

For Shania, spring break would be spent scuba diving with Adam in the Bahamas since they had both just passed their scuba course. While they were soaking up the sun, Wren planned to spend the week in New York City with Heidi as their school districts had the same week off.

An in-service day had been scheduled for the Friday before spring break, meaning that the students had the day off, but the staff had to come in. Taking advantage of the relaxed nature of the day, Wren showed up in jeans, sneakers and a hoodie. She spent the first part of the morning in her classroom and was on her way to her first meeting of the day, when her cell phone rang.

Taking the phone out of her pocket, she saw that it was her mom. Curious as to why her mom was calling in the middle of the day, Wren answered. "Hi mo-"

A sob met her ear and dread filled every inch of her body. "Mom?"

"You need to come home," her mom said in between sobs. "And hurry."


	10. Chapter 9

April 9, 2021

Rain fell heavily outside as Chris sat on the couch with Addy cuddled up to his side, her eyes focused on the TV while Scott sat a few feet away from them in a recliner. The brothers had had plans to go to the Red Sox game with friends, but the game had been postponed due to the steady rain that had been falling all day long.

Instead of going out to a bar with their friends, the brothers had opted for a movie night with Addy. They'd already feasted on pizzas from their favorite local place and were now watching _Frozen_. Scott had tried to convince the toddler to watch any else, but not even a bribe of a new Minnie Mouse stuffed toy could change her mind.

Just as Anna returned to the castle partially frozen, Scott's phone rang and he left the room to answer it. He returned a minute later and, by the look on his face, Chris knew something was wrong.

"Daddy will be right back, Addy," Chris told her. He got up and followed his brother out of the room.

"That was mom," Scott told him, solemnly. "Wren's dad had a heart attack early this afternoon."

"Is he ok?" Chris asked, his mind instantly going to Wren.

"No." Scott shook his head. "He passed away about an hour ago."

Chills raced down Chris's spine. Wren had always been really close with her dad. "Did Wren make it in time to say goodbye?"

"Yes, but she left the hospital right after he passed," Scott told him. "Mom called because no one knows where she went and she isn't answering her phone."

Worry flooded Chris's stomach. "Watch Addy for me?" he asked.

"Of course." Scott nodded. "Where do you think she is?"

"No idea, but I'll find her," Chris replied. Turning around, he glanced out the window that looked out to the front of the house and shook his head. "It's nasty out there. I hope she's some-"

"Wait," Scott cut him off, pointing to a figure on the other side of the street. "I think someone is out there."

Chris followed his brother's line of vision and felt his heart skip a beat when he saw the figure move. He'd recognize Wren _anywhere_ and that was her.

Without another word to his brother, Chris ran to the front door and threw it open. He didn't stop to grab a coat or even put his shoes on, he just ran out into the rain and raced to Wren. She looked up as he neared her and he could see the heartache written on her face.

Reaching her, he folded her into his arms and held her as her body shook with tears. He could tell she had been out in the rain for a while as her wet clothes soaked his jeans and t-shirt. He knew he needed to get her inside, but he didn't want to let go of her.

"He's gone." She hiccupped, her tone sad and heartbreaking. "My dad. He's gone."

"I know," he replied, smoothing her wet hair with his hand. "I'm so sorry, Wren." He wanted to take her pain away.

"I love you, Chris," she said, after another couple minutes. "I tried to get over you, but I couldn't."

His heart skipped a beat at her declaration. He’d know she was in love with him, but hearing her say those words and knowing that they both felt more than friendly to each other made him want to burst with joy.

Knowing the time had come for him to make his own declaration, Chris moved her wet hair away from her eyes and studied her. Even with tear stains down her cheeks and the appearance of a drowned rat, she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

“I love you, too,” he finally said.

“Really?” she asked, blinking up at him.

“Really.” A smile overtook his face. “I’m just sorry it took me an embarrassingly long time to see what was right in front of me.”

She let out a laugh and then sneezed.

"Ok, time to get you inside and warmed up," Chris told her. He lifted her with ease and made his way back to the house. He didn't see Scott when he entered the house, but he didn't look for him either as getting Wren warm and dry was his top priority.

He carried her upstairs to the bathroom in his master bedroom and set her feet on the ground.

"How did you get here?" he asked as he helped her take off the hoodie she was wearing.

"I walked," she replied through chattering teeth.

"Shit," he cursed, knowing that the hospital was a little over three miles from his house. "We need to get you warm."

Wren didn't argue as he helped her strip down to her bra and underwear, which, like the rest of her clothes, were soaking wet, but he wanted to leave her with some sense of modesty. He left her standing there as he went to the shower and turned it on, setting the temperature to lukewarm.

"Come here," he said to her. He held his hand out to her and then helped her into the shower. "Get under the spray, I'll be back in a minute."

After she did as he instructed, he left the bathroom to grab some dry clothes for her. He considered texting his mom, but figured that Scott had already informed her that Wren had shown up at the house.

Returning to the bathroom, Chris stripped his wet clothes off until he was down to his boxers. He added his clothes to the pile of Wren's before he joined her in the large shower.

He raised the water temperature a bit before he wrapped his arms around Wren and held her to him chest to chest. He could already feel the difference in her body temperature and couldn't help but smile when he felt her wrap her arms around his waist.

"I love you, Wren," he whispered. "I love you. I love you. I love you."

She sighed happily against his chest and replied with a muffled, "You have no idea how many times I've dreamed of you saying that to me."

A chuckle rumbled through his chest at her words. He reached over and turned the water temperature up a bit more.

They stayed wrapped up in each other's arms for several minutes before she let go and took a step backwards. She looked up at him and ran her hand over his bearded jaw as she smiled.

"Kiss me?"

Chris smiled as he dipped his head down. He pressed his lips against hers, chastely at first, but then slid his tongue over her lips. Her mouth parted almost immediately and the kiss deepened. It was like experiencing their first kiss again, except her lips didn’t taste like blue raspberry and it lasted for more than a second.

It took every ounce of Chris's will power to pull away when things began to heat up between them. It had taken them twenty plus years to get to this point and he wasn't about to mess things up now by letting their hormone get the best of them on the night she’d lost her dad.

"I don't have any girlie products," he told her, gesturing to the small collection of shower products. "At least in here. I think there's some Princess Sofia stuff in Addy's bathroom, though."

"I'll be fine with what you have," Wren assured him.

They took turns soaping up and washing off. He helped her with her hair, washing it just like he helped Addy with hers.

Once they were done, he got out of the shower and grabbed towels for both of them. He dried off the best he could, slipping his wet boxers off once he had the towel wrapped securely around his waist. He then left the bathroom to let her get dressed in private.

Going into his closet, he put on a dry pair of boxers before pulling on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. When he returned to the bedroom, he found Wren standing in the doorway to the bathroom. She was wearing a pair of his flannel pajama pants, that were only fitting her thanks to the drawstring, and one of his Patriots t-shirts.

"Come on," he said as he gestured to the bed. He pulled back the covers and smiled when she did the same on the other side of the bed. He climbed in and moved towards the center of the bed where she met him, a moment later.

Butterflies filled Chris's stomach as he felt Wren nestle herself against him, but the moment she laid her head against his chest, the nerves disappeared. He wrapped his arms around her and closed his eyes.

When Chris woke up the next morning, the first thing he noticed was that Wren wasn't cuddled up next to him anymore. He panicked until he heard Wren and Addy talking. Opening his eyes, he looked over and saw Wren sitting on the far edge of the bed with Addy sitting on her lap. The little girl was telling her all about their Easter celebration the week before.

"Morning, ladies," he said, rolling onto his side to face them.

"Daddy! Wren is back!" Addy exclaimed.

"I know, baby girl," Chris chuckled. "Did you miss her?"

"Uh huh," Addy nodded. "I don't want her to ever leave."

"I don't either," Chris said, his eyes meeting Wren's. "So, what do you say, Wren. Will you stay with us forever?"

"There's nowhere else I'd rather be," Wren replied. “Of course, I’ll have to finish out the school year, but Albany is only three hours away.”

Chris knew that they had a lot to work out still, but he was hopeful for their future. He smiled and leaned towards her. Wren closed the distance and he pressed his lips against hers for a quick kiss.

"Eww," Addy squealed and fell backwards onto the bed dramatically.

Chris and Wren laughed at the toddler's reaction.

"Better get used to it, Addy," Chris told his daughter as he reached over and tickled her feet. "I'm going to be kissing Wren every day for the rest of my life."

Wren giggled and leaned over to kiss Chris again.

"Does this mean I can get a doggy?" Addy asked.

Wren and Chris broke apart as laughter ripped through their bodies at the little girl's question.


	11. Epilogue

July 6, 2027

The house was quiet when Chris entered the mud room via the garage at one in the morning. He pulled off his shoes and stuck them on the shelf marked "Daddy" and then left his suitcase with all his dirty clothes next to the washing machine.

Entering the kitchen, he smiled when he saw that the girls had made him a "Welcome Home Daddy!" sign and had hung it on the edge of the island. He had spent the last week doing promos for a new film and was happy to finally be home where he belonged.

He took the kitchen stairs two at a time to get to the floor where his wife and daughters all slept. The first door he came to was painted a bold purple with a turquoise "A" printed on it. He hadn't been sure of the idea when Addy and Wren had presented it to him when they first moved in, but the house wouldn't be complete without unique touches like this.

Pushing the ajar door open, he smiled when he saw his 10-year-old daughter curled up with their aging Austrian shepherd, Gus. They had adopted the, then two-year-old, dog shortly after he and Wren had gotten married seven years ago; the same day that Wren had legally adopted Addy.

When it came to her birth mom, Addy hadn't had any questions until just recently and it was more out of curiosity than anything else. Because of these questions, part of his trip to LA had included a visit with Jessa and her husband. They hadn't been ready for a face to face conversation, but Jessa had given Chris her business card and told him that Addy could email her any questions she may have and she'd answer them if she could. They all knew, however, there were some topics that couldn't be address via email or until the pre-teen was an adult herself. It was a talk that Chris wasn't looking forward to having with his daughter, but he knew it would have to happen as soon as they had time.

Returning her door to how he found it, he moved down to the next door which was based in a pale pink and then had a lime green "D" and a magenta purple "S" on it. There had been a lot of debate about the door and Chris wasn't looking forward to a repeat of it when he had to redo the door in a few weeks when they moved the girls' rooms around to make room for the new baby.

The door was already opened halfway due to the needs of its occupants. At almost five, his and Wren's second oldest, Dakota, liked to sleep in a dark room, but her three-year-old sister Savannah preferred to have the light from the hallway on her at all times. It had taken them a couple weeks to get it setup to accommodate both girls' needs, but, in the end, they had worked it out.

From the doorway, Chris could see little Savannah stretched out on her stomach with the family's orange tabby cat, Oliver, snuggled up to her side. In order to see Dakota, he had to move into the room and pull aside the blackout curtain that was attached to the ceiling above her bed. Like her other sisters, she was dead to the world and didn't even flinch, though her sleeping buddy, the family's other dog Patch, a Dalmatian, looked up at him with one eye. Chris pressed his finger to his mouth and then backed away from the bed. He stood still for a moment, wondering if Patch was going to get up and follow him, but he soon heard the dog start snoring again.

Leaving the room, Chris moved across the hall to the nursery. The closed door was painted a pale yellow and, currently, had the letter "B" written on it. Opening the door, he tiptoed in and closed it softly behind him. The door to his and Wren's room was partially open and he could see the outline of his pregnant wife from where he stood. Smiling, he made his way over to the crib and smiled down at his and Wren's youngest daughter, Brooklyn, 18 months.

As he watched the baby sleep, he couldn't help but reflect on the last seven years. They had been the best years of his life. He loved making movies and acting, but he had scaled back so he could spend more time with his girls. Thanks to the Marvel movies, he and Wren were set for life and he was sure even his future grandchildren would be fine as long as they were wise with the money.

Leaving the nursery, Chris went into the bedroom he shared with Wren and stared longingly at the bed. A part of him just wanted to undress and climb in next to her, but he'd been traveling all day and he needed to shower first.

He showered quickly and then put on a pair of plaid pajama pants, a necessity with daughters who didn't know how to knock. Returning to the bedroom, he smiled when he saw Wren sitting up.

"Welcome home." She smiled at him as he climbed into the bed.

"Good to be home," he replied. He kissed her and then tugged playfully on the braid she always put her hair into for bed. "Did I wake you up?"

"No, the baby did," she said and both of their eyes dropped to her swollen belly.

"Do I need to have a talk with him or her?" Chris asked, sternly. He didn't wait for her answer as he leaned down and started to talk to her belly.

Wren laughed as his whispers tickled her skin. She couldn't hear what he was saying to the baby, but the baby responded with a kick. "Ouch!" she said, rubbing the spot where she was jabbed. "I thought you were going to calm the baby down."

"I forgot I'm not the kid wrangler," he replied, smoothing her stomach with his hand.

"No you're just a super hero dad," Wren smiled at him. "Did you see the girls' sign in the kitchen?"

"I did and I loved it," Chris said then stifled a yawn.

"Time to go to sleep," Wren laughed. "The girls are excited to see you and I don't think they'll let you sleep in."

"Oh the joys of being a parent," Chris sighed.

"Says the one who checked on all the girls and was secretly disappointed that none of them were still awake," Wren stated.

"Guilty," Chris chuckled as he laid back against the pillows with Wren's body cuddled up against him.

Savannah was the first to join them a few hours later with her shadow Oliver. Little girl and cat crawled into bed, her laying down on top of Chris and the cat curling up by his pillows. A little while later, Dakota and Patch joined them, too. An hour or so later, Addy came into the room via the nursery carrying Brooklyn with Gus following them.

"I think we need a bigger bed," Chris told Wren once they were all in the bed together. He and Wren were both partially sitting with the youngest two cuddled up to them while Addy and Dakota laid between them with both dogs and Oliver curled up at their feet.

"Daddy, can we watch cartoons?" Dakota asked after a while.

"Sure," Chris nodded. He handed her the tablet that controlled the TV and let her choose what they would watch.

It took her a few minutes, but Dakota eventually picked a series of old Disney cartoons that Chris and Wren had grown up watching. As a family, they watched a couple before they heard the first tummy rumble.

"Mom, can I go get the cupcakes?" Addy asked, excitedly.

"Great idea," Wren nodded.

"What cupcakes?" Chris asked as Addy sprinted from the room.

"It's our seventh wedding anniversary," Wren reminded him. "And at my sonogram this week, the doctor was able to determine the sex of the baby."

"I knew our anniversary," Chris said. "But I didn't know the second part. What are we having?"

"That's what we're about to find out," Wren said as Addy returned with a pink bakery box. "I had her write it on a card and then I took it to our favorite bakery and had them make us cupcakes with a filling that is either blue or pink."

Addy set the box down in the middle of the bed and then they moved so they were all surrounding it.

"Alright," Wren said. "Before we bite into our cupcakes, let's find out what you guys want it to be. Addy?"

"A boy!"

"Dakota?"

"A girl!"

"Savannah?"

"A girl!"

"Brooklyn?"

The one and half year old blinked in response, making them all laugh.

"Do you want a girl or a boy?" Addy asked her youngest sister. "Say 'mommy' for a girl or 'daddy' for a boy."

"Momma," Brooklyn replied from around her binkie.

"Alright, so that is three for another girl and one vote for a boy," Wren said. "What do you want, Chris?"

"I love my girls and I will be happy with another, but I wouldn't mind having a boy," Chris replied.

"How very politically correct of you," Wren laughed. "I'll be less PC and say I'd love to have a little boy."

"So how are we going to do this?" Chris asked, gesturing to the cupcakes.

"We'll each grab one and then we'll count to three before we take a bite," Wren explained.

They each grabbed a cupcake and then held it in their hands save for Brooklyn whose hands were too small to hold the cupcake. They put her in front of the cake box, but before they could stop her, the one-and-a-half-year-old grabbed a fist full of her cupcake and brought it to her lips, revealing the blue filling.

"It's a boy!" Addy shouted and then bite into her own cupcake. They followed her lead and confirmed that the filling of all the cupcakes was indeed blue.

"We're having a boy," Wren said as she looked at Chris with tears in her eyes. "A boy!"

Grinning, Chris leaned over and pressed a kiss to Wren's frosting covered lips. In four short months, baby Austin would be joining the family.

A little over eight years ago, he had returned to Boston thinking his love life was dead and wanting to make the best life for Addy that he could. He hadn't foreseen that he would fall in love with his best friend, Wren, marry her and have three more daughters and a son with her, but that is exactly what had happened.

Exactly seven years ago, he and Wren had stood in front of a small gathering of their family and friends and had promised to love and cherish each other for the rest of their lives. A promise that he planned to keep until he took his last breath.


End file.
